The present invention pertains to a vehicle visor and particularly one suited for use in connection with the rear window of a vehicle.
There exists a variety of visor systems partially or completely covering a window. U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,014, for example, discloses a front windshield cover which can be lowered partially to serve as a visor during use or lowered completely for enclosing the windshield when the vehicle is parked to reduce the interior heating of the vehicle by sunlight. This system employs a plurality of overlying slats with guide means interconnecting them for sliding movement from behind the headliner at the front of the vehicle roof. U.S. Pat. No. 2,829,003 discloses a early design for a rear window visor which attaches on the inside of a vehicle roof and is exposed to view. This visor is installed as an aftermarket item and the curved visor pivots and slides at its corner edges and is controlled along a central guide. A variety of other sliding visor oonstructions such as represented by U.S. Pat. No. 2,289,644, have also been proposed for use in connection with vehicles.
These systems, although providing sunblocking protection, are either not uniquely adapted for use in a concealed headliner installation or are somewhat complicated and therefore costly in today's cost conscious automotive market. Also, it has been discovered that planar visors which are guided by rectangular edge slots do not slide consistently and thus provide the desired control or "feel" during use. Such a visor can be subject to sticking and uneven movement due in part to the extreme ambient conditions to which the visor is subjected in the automotive environment.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a relatively inexpensive and yet functional sliding visor panel for use particularly for the rear window area of a vehicle.